The present invention relates to a step-in snowboard binding in particular; a step-in snowboard binding designed to hold a boot by its sides.
A binding such as this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,266, the content of which is incorporated by reference. This binding allows the boot to be held firmly when there is snow or ice present on the baseplate and when this snow or this ice melts and the boot tends to drop, the difference in height of the boot is automatically taken up by the binding. Furthermore, the locking element provides a firm grip, without elastic play, and without the jaw having to be acted upon by a powerful spring in order to achieve this. What happens is that the jaw is held pressed against the boot by the locking element, it being possible for this locking to be provided by appropriate shapes, without there being the need to have a powerful spring acting on the locking element. A binding such as this avoids the drawbacks of the bindings of the prior art, such as the bindings described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,073, the content of which is incorporated by reference, and patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,062, the content of which is incorporated by reference, the former not being able to be closed in the presence of snow on the baseplate, while the latter has no locking element.
Other sources disclose bindings with two lateral jaws. A binding such as this is disclosed in document U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,524, the content of which is incorporated by reference, for a monoski. This binding has no locking element. In this binding, the holding means consist of two jaws pivoting about a horizontal axis and secured to a driving arm intended to be actuated by the boot as the boot is introduced into the binding. The boot-release lever is kinematically linked to the jaws in such a manner that it is raised when the jaws are themselves raised into the open position of the binding and lowered when the jaws are in the locked position for holding the boot. The binding is equipped with a visual indicator of correct engagement of the jaws in the on-boot position of the binding. This indicator consists of an elbowed rocker mounted in a pivoting manner on the boot-release lever and appearing in a cutout of the latter. When the jaws are correctly engaged in the boot, the indicator is able to rock sufficiently for one of its arms to brace itself on the baseplate of the binding, allowing the front face of the other arm to appear in the cutout of the boot-release lever. This design of the indicator makes it necessary to form a cutout in the boot-release lever. The mounting of a movable indicator on a piece which is itself movable results in constructional constraints without guaranteeing functioning under the most unfavorable conditions which might be encountered during the use of a snowboard binding. Moreover, indication by the front face of an arm of the rocker moving away slightly from the horizontal is not conducive to observation.
Another binding is disclosed in document WO 96/26 774, the content of which is incorporated by reference. This binding has no locking element capable of locking the jaws at different levels of closure.
In the binding according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,226, the content of which is incorporated by reference, the jaw is urged by a return spring which tends to close this jaw and the wedge-shaped locking element is also used as a means for holding the jaw in the open position, the jaw pressing against the end of the locking element. This locking element is therefore constantly pressed against the cam of the jaw and, when the boot is being put into the binding, the jaw has first of all to push back the locking element. In the open position, as the cam presses via a rounded portion against an (also rounded) portion of the end of the locking element, wear of the contacting surfaces is likely to cause the jaw to become locked in the open position. Furthermore, actuation of the release means in the absence of a boot has the effect of closing the jaw, the release of the release means having the effect of locking the jaw in the closed position. The jaw has then to be opened again by hand, one hand actuating the release means while the other hand lifts the jaw back up.
Therefore, what is needed is a step-in binding which overcomes these drawbacks.
The step-in binding is provided in which the jaw is equipped with a return spring tending to keep its jaw in its open position, and the jaw and the locking element comprise collaborating means for keeping the locking element away from its locking position when the jaw is raised and as long as the jaw has not at least approximately reached a position likely to be a position for retaining the boot. The jaw is therefore not held in the open position by the locking element, but by its return spring. It therefore does not carry any risk of being closed inadvertently. Furthermore, in its first phase of closure, before it has at least approximately reached a position likely to be a boot-retaining position, the locking element does not in any way impede the jaw-closing movement.
The object of the invention is to produce a step-in snowboard binding, in which the jaw, or jaws, are not impeded in their open position by the locking element and do not carry the risk of being closed inadvertently when no boot is present and in which an indicator is provided that indicates to the user that the boot is properly engaged with the binding.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the locking element is in the form of a peg and the guide for this peg is directed at least approximately vertically.
According to one embodiment, the peg can rotate and is fitted with at least one radial arm which rotates as one with the peg, resting, via its end, on a stop when the jaw is in the raised position, the jaw being secured to an auxiliary cam retaining the radial arm in this pressing position, the shape of the cam-shaped part being such that it releases the radial arm when the jaw is lowered, allowing the locking peg to move into the locking position.
The jaw is preferably mounted in a mount forming a roughly vertical guide for a set of moving parts carrying said peg and the jaw comprises a means for deliberately raising this set of moving parts, actuation of which allows the jaw to be raised and the radial arm of the peg to be returned to a position resting against the mount.
The binding is preferably equipped with two opposed jaws which are kinematically connected so that the two jaws can be lowered simultaneously so that one jaw cannot close without the other jaw closing also. Mechanical play is advantageously provided in the kinematic link between the jaws so as to take account of a slightly oblique position of the boot as the result of snow or ice being present under the boot.
According to another embodiment, the cam-shaped part of the jaw has a lateral wall forming a stop for the locking element so as to keep it away from its locking position and a cutout forming a circumferential stop, and the locking element consists of a finger which can move at least approximately parallel to the axis of rotation of the jaw and is in the shape of a wedge pressing against the circumferential stop as it enters said cutout after the jaw has rotated a certain amount. Like in the first embodiment, the opposite retaining element advantageously consists of a second jaw identical to the first and the two locking fingers are kinematically linked. In this case too, mechanical play is advantageously built into this kinematic link.
The indicator is mounted in a pivoting manner about an axis parallel to the plane of the baseplate, on a fixed part of the binding. The pivoting of the indicator can be carried out by gravity or by an elastic means such as a spring in the shape of a hunting horn. Preferrably, the indicator bears directly or indirectly on one of the holding means and it pivots when the holding means moves. Preferrably, the indicator is at least partly concealed from view in a frame when the boot is put into the binding correctly. Thus, if the top of the indicator has a vivid color, this color disappears when the boot is put into the binding correctly.